Hosiery drying table



July 6, 1948. A. s. MANN ETAL 2,444Q783 HOSIERY DRYING TABLE Filed Aug.1, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 o o I INVENTOR5.. v (Zrfiuzrlffanm By fiozdardJuly 6, 1948. A. s. MANN ET AL 2,444,783

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. HOSIERY DRYING TABLE Filed Aug. 1, 1945 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 PatentedJuly .6, 1948 HOSIERY DRYING TABLE Arthur S. Mann and Howard Campbell,Kankakee, Ill., assignors to Paramount Textile Machinery 00.,Kankakee,Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application August 1, 1945, Serial No.608,136-

9 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in'drying tables which arecommonly equipped with a plurality of heated forms for shaping, settingand drying hosiery and other like articles, and it'spurpose is toprovide improved apparatus comprising means for ventilating and coolingthe apparatus and the'surrounding atmosphere during the dryingoperation.

In drying tables as heretofore constructed it has been usual to providelong containers or pans extending along opposite sides of the assemblyfor containing the wet articles and the drying forms have been mountedin one or more longitudinal rows located between the pans and preferablyat a higher level, the operators occupying positions on the outer sidesof the pans whereby they were enabled to remove the Wetv articles.

from the pans and place them on the forms. The drying forms are commonlyheated by steam or electricity to very high temperatures, for example,250 Fahrenheit or more, and the heat arising from these forms and fromthe supply pipes leading thereto has caused high air temperatures in theregion of the apparatus, with the result that the work of the operatorshas been very difiicult and uncomfortable particularly during warmweather.

The principal object of the present invention is to overcome the abovementioned difiiculties by providing an improved drying table havingmeans for reducing the atmospheric temperature in the regions occupiedby the operators. A further object is to provide a drying table incombination with means for causing a circulation of air or other mediumadapted to maintain a comfortable atmospheric condition in the region ofthe table. Another object of the invention is to provide a drying tablehaving a plurality of heated drying forms and comprising means forcausing currents of air to be projected from one or more sides of thetable'toward the oper ators, preferably in a, plurality of zones atdifferent heights. Other objects relate to various features ofconstruction and arrangement which will appear more fully hereinafter.

The nature of the invention will be understood from the followingspecification taken with the accompanying drawings in which oneembodiment is illustrated. In the drawings,

Figure 1 shows a side elevation of the improved drying table with partsthereof broken away;

Fig. 2 shows an end elevation of the drying table, looking toward theright as viewed in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a vertical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;1 i

Fig. 4 shows an end elevation of the drying table, looking toward theleft as viewed in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 shows a top plan view of the steam traps and associated pipeconnections which are illustrated in the lower part of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 shows a top plan view of the connections for supplying live steamto the drying forms and for removing exhaust steam therefrom, partsthereof being broken away; and

Fig. '7 shows a partial side elevation of theconnections illustrated inFig. 6 with a portion thereof illustrated in vertical section.

As illustrated in the drawings, the invention comprises a'pair of longpans or containers ll),

of rectangular vertical cross section, which are mounted on oppositesides of the apparatus and are supported on cross frame members ll ofangle bar form secured upon the upper ends ofvertical legs l2 havingtheir lower ends secured by setscrews IS in enlarged fittings M whichrest upon the floor or other support l5.

The pans H] are spaced apart, as shown par-' ticularly in Figs. 3 and 4,forming an intervening space l6 above which there is mounted a housingll adapted to contain the conduits for sup plying steam to the dryingforms l8 which are mounted in two rows extending above and longiof thehousing I1, and also through the sleeves and'the top flanges of theframe members I I, be

ing engaged at their lower ends by washers 2 2' and nuts 23.

The means located inthe housing IT for supplying steam to the dryingforms I 8 and withdrawing the exhaust steam therefrom comprises twolongitudinal parallel units 25 each including an inner conduit 26located within and spaced from an outer conduit 21.

21 are secured upon the cross bars 2| located in the housing I! and eachouter conduit has se-i cured thereto by a series of studs 28 and nuts 29the !base flanges l8 of the drying forms IS SO that both the outerconduits 21 and the drying forms are rigidly supported and held instation-' ary position with respect to the housing IT. The

drying forms l8 may be of any desired form'but The outer conduits areillustrated as being constructed in accordance with the inventiondescribed and claimed in the application of Arthur S. Mann, Serial No.544,181, filed July 10, 1944. now Patent No. 2,433,470. Each drying formi8 is hollow and has mounted therein a pipe 30 of substantial diameterwhich is enlarged at its lower end and which communicates through ports21* with the annular chamber of the conduit 27 around the inner conduit28 of that unit. The inner conduit 26 has connected thereto a smallpipe. 3! which extends through one of the apertures 21 and through thepipe 39 so that live steam may be conveyed therethrough to the interioroi -the drying form, while the exhaust steam willbe re;-

turned through the annular space between the pipes 30 and 3| to theannular chamber ofthe conduit 21 around the conduit 26'. Each dryingform illustrated in the drawings comprises a de.-

tachable toe portion l8; 2. foot portion l8", a

conveyed through the pipe 3| into the interior of the detachable toeportion w ofeach drying form sothat this portion of the formi directlyheated andthe detachable toe portion may be interchanged with other toeportionsto adapt the'form to the drying of hosiery of different sizes,but this feature does not form a part of the present invention.

Thesteam for heating the drying forms I8 is supplied to the innerconduits 25 of theunits: 25: by steam supply pipes 33 which are locatedin the housing [1 between the units 25,. as shown particularly in Figs.3 and 6, the space wi-thin'the housing around the units 25 and the pipesSibeing occupied by a body of heat insulating material 34'. The supplypipes 33 extend through the housing I! from the right end thereof, asviewedin Fig. 1, and their left-hand extremities are: connected byelbows 35 with hollow fittings 36 which embrace and form fluidtig-htconnections; with the adjacent ends of the conduits 26 and 21, asshown in Figs. 6 and 7, each fitting having an enlargedinner end toreceive the extremity of the outer conduit 21 and a reducedouter end'which is fitted by the inner conduit 26. The live steam thus entersthe-conduits, 26-

at the ends thereof which are'farthest. removed from-the source ofsupply and the steam 'then flows in these conduits 2.6 toward theright-hand end otthe apparatus, as viewed in Fig. 1, during which somesteam is supplied to each of thedryingforms I8 connectedto each of theconduitsifi. As this operation goes on, the exhaust steam and condensatewhich flow downwardly through the pipes 30 of the drying forms =i.8--pass into the: outer conduits 2T andare exhausted from the rightthereof, as illustrated in Figs. 1, 6 and'l.

At'the. right hand of the apparatus, the portionoi the live steam in theconduits 25 which has not. been discharged into. the drying. forms and.the exhauststeam and condensate which. are contained within the outerconduits 21 are discharged through iittings 31 into. exhaustconnections-includingpipes 38, connected byv elbows 3% to. the outerends. of the fittings 31 and to.- the. ends of the conduits .26. forconveyin away the unused live steam, and pipes 413. connected directlyto the fittings 3.!v for conveying awaythe exhaust steam and condensatefrom the discharge. ends. of theouter conduits 21.

The steam supply pipes 33 lead through apertures in the right-hand endwall of the housing I! and are connected by elbows 42 with transverselyextending pipes 43, shown in Fig. 6, which are in turn connected byelbows 44 and pipes 45 with the casings of valves 45 having operatinghandles 146 which: maybe operated to; regulate the flow of steamthroughthe valvesi rom a supply pipe 50, shown in Fig. 4, which is connectedtoeach of the valves 46 through the pipe connections The valves 46control the flow of steamthrough the two units within the housing andthe pressure of the steam may be controlled by suitable regulatorsconnected in thesupply-line-for the purpose of regulating thetemperature ofthe drying forms IS.

The verticallyextending exhaust pipes 38 and l'll'pass downwardlybetween the pans Ill at the right-hand end of the apparatus, as viewedin Fig. 1, and are connected to vertical pipes 52 througha. series ofelbows 53 and pipes 54, as shown in Figs. 4, 6 and, '7. The verticalpipes 5-2 are thus arranged to extendparallel to each other at theright-hand end. of the apparatus andtheir lower extremities areconnectedto strainers 55- having angularly disposed branch portion connectedthrough. elbows '56. withthe drain cocks. 57. The body portions of thestrainers 55,: are connected through pipes 58. and elbows lid-with thetraps and the upper part of: each trap .is connected through a pipe 6!with. a. horizontal pipe 63, shown, in Fig, 5, through which the ex-.haust steam is, conveyed away tov suitable condensing apparatus or thelike. By means of. this. system, the, exhaust. steam and. water arewithdrawn from the, discharge ends of the-con.- duits126 and 21 whichconstitute the. heating units 25' located within thehousing ll.

As shown particularly in Figs. 2 and3, the housing I! is somewhatnarnowerthan the; space,- 16 between the. pans'or containers i0 and itslower wall is depressed slightly below the level of the upper edges ofthe pans i0. thus providing; come.

paratively narrowerv longitudinal slots through which air be. dischargediromthe space-l5: for

the purpose of cooling the atmosphereand D D- which. are attached to'thelower portions of the side walls of the housing I1.

The. air under pressure which is discharged, through the slots- 85.is-supplied to these slots through the space Hi from an ain'chamber 61:formed Within a casing 68 of rectangular. cross section which. issecured to the inner sides of the.' legs [2. This. casing has side wallsfi9rwhieh terminate at. their upper edgess-inzflang es-fiw arranged toseat against thebottom wallsofthe pans l0 and these side wallsareprovidedat their lower edgeswith-inturneclflanges 69' which supportthe bottom wall l0. At points somewhat above the. bottom: wall 10, the.side Walls 69 are provided with oppositely disposed slots H whichextend throughout the length of the housing 68 and which are boundedalong their edges by the flanges 68 formed on the side walls of thecasing. These slots are preferably located substantially at the.elevation of the knees. of the operator-softhat; air dischargedtherethrough Willi have; the desired coolingefiect in regions somewhatbelow the level of the pans l0. At its right-hand end, the catsing 68',which'is coextensive in length'withthe pans I0, i'siprovided with an endwall lz'through which extend the connections 54 leading t t P 1 6852. 1%i 1 5 :heating medium toksaid drying forms, arhousing At the left-handend of the apparatus, as'viewed in Fig. 1, the casing 68 is connected toa fan casing15, of rectangular cross section, which communicates on itsinner end with the chamber Bl of the casing 68 and which is closed onits upper fan 18 driven by an electric motor 19 which has its framemounted upon supporting blocks 8D carried by the bottom wall of the fancasing, as shown in Fig; 2. Electric current is supplied to the mo tor'19 by conductors BI and certain of these con -i ductors are carriedthrough the fan casing to'a controlling switch 82 operated by apush-button 82 which projects through the side wall of the fan casing,as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2.

When the drying table is in use, the fan 18 is put in operation, thusdrawing air through the screen 11 and projecting it under pressurethrough the chamber 61 from which a part of the air passes upwardlythrough the space l6 and is discharged through the slots 65 toward theupper portions of the bodies of the operators who are engaged inremoving the wet hosiery :or other articles from the pans In and placingthese articles upon the drying forms I8. At the same time, otherportions of the air delivered under pressure to the chamber 61 aredischarged through the longitudinal slots H in the region of the kneesof the operators, thus eifectively dissipating the heat arising from thedrying forms and the steam supply pipes leading thereto so that acomfortable room temperature may be maintained alongside the pans orcontainers I0, even in warm weather.

Although one form of the invention has 'been shown and described by wayof illustration, it will be understood that it may be constructed invarious other embodiments coming within the scope of the appendedclaims.

We claim:

1. A drying table for textile articles comprising, a series of dryingforms, means for supplying a heating medium to said drying forms, ahousing extending below said forms and enclosing a portion of saidsupplying means, a container extending alongside said housing forreceiving the wet articles to be dried, said container being Spaced fromsaid housing to form an elongated slot at the upper edge of saidcontainer, a casing carried by said t-a-ble beneath said housing andforming an air chamber communicating with said slot, and means fordischarging air under pressure into said chamber.

2. A drying table for textile articles comprising, a series of dryingforms, means for supplying a heating medium to said drying forms, ahousing extending below said forms and enclosing a portion of saidsupplying means, a container extending alongside said housing forreceiving the wet articles to be dried, said container being spaced fromsaid housing to form an elongated slot at the upper edge of saidcontainer, a casing carried by said table beneath said housing andforming an air chamber communicating with said slot, means fordischarging air under pressure into said chamber,-and meansfor directingthe air discharged through saidslot outwardly over said container.

3. A drying table for textile articles comprising, a seriesof dryingforms means for supplying a extending below said forms and enclosing aportion of-said 'supplyingmeans, a container ex-"- tending' alongsidesaid housing for receiving the wet articles tobe dried, said containerbeing IOn'space'd from said housing to form an elongated slot at theupper edge of said container, a casing carri'ed by said table beneathsaid-housing and forming an air chamber communicating with said slot,said chamber having a longitudinal slot in its outer sideopening beneathsaid container, andmeans'for discharging air under pressure intotherefrom outwardly said'chamber to 'be delivered through said slots. 4.A drying table for textile articles compris' fla inga series of dryingforms, means for supply-z' ing a heating medium to said drying forms, aF

housing extending" below said forms and enclosing a portion ofsaidsupplying means, a contain-' or extending alongside said-housing forreceiving the wet articles to be dried, said container being spaced fromsaid housing to form an elongated slot at the upper edge of saidcontainer, a casing carried by said table beneath said housin andforming an air chamber communicating with said slot, a fan casingcarried by one end of said first named casing and having a reticulatedend wall, and a motor driven fan in said fan casing for drawing airthrough said end wall and discharging it under pressure into saidchamber to be delivered therefrom outwardly through said slot.

5. A drying table for textile articles comprising, a series of heateddrying forms mounted in a row, a member extending longitudinally. ofsaid row beneath said dryin forms, a container extending alongside saidmember for receiving the wet articles to be dried, said container beingspaced from said member to form a slot, a casing forming an air chamberbeneath said drying forms communicating with said slot, and meanslocated at one end of said casing for discharging air under pressureinto said chamber.

6. A drying table for textile articles comprising, a series of heateddrying forms mounted in a row, a member extending longitudinally of saidrow beneath said dryin forms, a container extending alongside saidmember for receiving the wet articles to be dried, said container beingspaced from said member to form a slot, a casing forming an air chamberbeneath said drying forms communicating with said slot, means located atone end of said casing for discharging air under pressure into saidchamber, and a vane carried by said member for deflectin outwardly oversaid container the air discharging through said slot.

7. A drying table for textile articles, comprising a row of upwardlyextending drying forms having internal heating passages, conduits forsupporting said forms and supplying a heating medium to and exhaustingsaid medium from said passages, a housing extending longitudinally ofsaid row and enclosing said conduits, a container mounted alongside saidhousing and spaced therefrom to form a slot, said container beingadapted to contain the wet articles to be dried, means including a casinfor forming an air chamber beneath said housing communicating with saidslot, means mounted at one end of said casing for supplying air underpressure to

